The third life of Bree Cullen
by temagnifique
Summary: Jane lets Bree go at the end of Eclipse, and the Cullens adopt her. Now she finds she has much more to learn about being a good vampire, And when she finds out Diego might be alive, she has to find out who she really is. It's her new life VS old now. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_Edward Cullen_

"Wait," I said loudly, surprising myself. I realized I did not want this young vampire, Bree, to die. Trying to save a newborn from the Volturi was bad enough, but here was a vampire whom I barely knew, who fought in the army to kill Bella and my family alongside Victoria, who had no self control and who had probably murdered numerous innocent people in the past few months.

Yet here I was, fighting for her life.

I thought of Carlisle, my role-model and father. I had once been a cold-blooded murder, but I had turned my life around with the help of my family. I had once been driven by the crazy thirst that possessed this young one. If I could be saved, so could she.

And her mind, it was so bright, so interesting… She was observant and quick, and even though she was distracted at the moment, I could tell she was eager to learn, become a better person. She was strong, and by little hints in her thoughts I could tell she had lost something that had meant the world to her. I saw a vision of her becoming a part of our growing family, and she fit in nicely.

My thoughts passed in a blur and before Jane could reply, I continued.

"We could explain the rules to the young one. She doesn't seem unwilling to learn. She didn't know what she was doing." I looked at Carlisle.

"Of course," He said. He was already thinking of my vision, imagining a new addition to our family. He was already growing fond of the girl, already thinking of her like a daughter.

He looked at Jane, his thoughts clouded by doubt. He needed to win her over first. "We would certainly be prepared to take responsibility for Bree."

I turned my radar to Jane's thoughts, as I tightened my grip on Bella. Of course, having Bree in the family would mean taking extra precautions with my Bella's safety.

_Ha! I do hope you aren't serious, Edward. _Jane's thoughts were directed at me. _I would hate to disappoint you._

I glared at Jane, resisting the snarl that made its way up my throat, when I heard Bella plead.

"Please" Bella said in a small, desperate voice. She had been watching this whole time, but no one had expected this. Why would Bella defend this crazed vampire, who could possibly be fantasizing her death at the moment?

That was the moment where I wanted to see into her mind the most.

Jane's head snapped up, shocked, and Bree looked just as surprised. I could tell Felix was getting uncomfortable; he wanted to end this and get going. It wouldn't take long for Jane's patience to run out as well.

Jane laughed. It was a loud, shrill laugh, but there was no amusement behind it.

Bree looked confused. She was grateful for the stalling of her death, but she knew it would soon come to an end. I admired her calmness of the situation.

Suddenly, Jane's expression changed.

"Felix" she called quietly without turning around.

Jane, Felix and the other two members of the Volturi gathered several feet away from the Cullens and started discussing. They were talking just under their breaths, so quiet even our hearing couldn't pick it up. I tuned into Jane's mind.

_Aro will be angry… God, why am I even bothering…? She'll get herself killed in the first week with them. Eh, Edward?_

She was imagining different scenarios. Bree kill Bella, me so angry I would kill Bree… Or turn Bella, and then have two newborns on the loose.

I brightened up slightly at the fact that Jane was actually considering this, but I would not get my hopes up, and I would stay on my guard. I held my breath, and I could hear the flow of my family's breathing stop as well.

Meanwhile, Bree's thoughts were practically screaming at me. She called the Volturi "The Dark Cloaks", my family "The Yellow Eyes", and me "The Mind Reader". It was all so new to her. I caught a glimpse into her past life as she was thinking. Riley would lie to them to keep their thoughts safe. I felt horribly responsible for that. There was also mention of a Diego… He died. She cared very much for him... I felt a pang of sympathy. If I ever lost Bella… I don't know what I would do. I tried not to think of the possibility.

Jane spun around quickly. "Well. Carlisle, it has been a pleasure to finally meet you. Aro was not exaggerating." A small smile, like she was remembering an inside joke. I tensed.

"And the rest of your _family_." She said with a hint of annoyance. She didn't respect our choice of lifestyle, and also didn't like that we were one of the biggest covens, and getting stronger.

"I do hope we meet again, perhaps in the near future…?" A glance at Alice. "And I must thank you for the terrific job you have done here. I am sorry we missed the fun. We have decided that you should be rewarded of your work and you may keep the newborn. As longas you can keep her under control. You _will_ hear from us if you don't." She warned.

She looked at Bella. I stiffened. "And I hope we won't have to wait long for this one. Aro is not a very patient man." We all knew he was _very _patient, but she had to get us to hurry up somehow.

One last look at Bree. Jane sighed. She didn't understand why we would bother to save her. It's not like she meant anything to us. _Guess that's what happens when you try to act human. You get _feelings. She mentally shivered at the thought.

"Well. It is time for us to go. Remember, this is not an exception; it is merely a reward for your hard work here. Goodbye."

And then they were gone.

We all waited, on our guards until we saw the dark cloaks disappear within the forest. When it was clear they weren't coming back, Bree looked up at us. _Why? _She was thinking to me. But instead she let out an uneasy "Thank you."

Carlisle spoke up "Do not thank me young one. Every being deserves to have a second chance." He said passionately.

Bree was clearly confused. It was going to be hard to help her learn our ways, but she did not seem unwilling.

I thought it was time to introduce ourselves.

"I'm Edward" I said. I did not make a move for a hand shake. "This is Bella. Were together." I said, and I tuned into her thoughts to see her reaction.

_Together! How-but, what? _She thought. I would have to explain to her after.

"I'm Carlisle. This is my wife Esme, my daughters Alice, Rosalie, and my sons Emmet and Jasper. Edward is also my son." He said, gesturing to each of us as he spoke our names.

Bree had thoughts running wild around her head. "Let us go to our home to explain a bit more." I suggested.

Bree, her eyes wide, nodded slowly. She could use some explaining. Jasper and Emmet grabbed each arm, and Emmet spoke quietly. "Keep up" He grinned. Even though Bree wasn't classified as safe yet, he was already getting used to the thought of her as a Cullen. They would get along good.

With Bella on my back, we all ran to our home. Bella's arms were clasped tightly around my neck, her face buried into the back of my neck. She had a lot to think about. I was afraid she would not accept me after seeing what I did to Victoria.

When we were home, Bree looked up to the huge house. It was not what she was used to, that's for sure. When we were inside, she spoke first.

"Where are we?"

"Were in a small town named Forks, in Washington." Carlisle said.

Her expression did not change. "So you've noticed that we have yellow eyes." I said. "It is because we don't hunt humans. We hunt animals, instead. We think of ourselves as 'vegetarian'." I chuckled. That one never got old. "We… try to be better. It satisfies our thirst, and it doesn't hurt innocent people. We try and live with the humans. We have mastered our control so that we can be around them. Obviously." I pointed to Bella. "You are curious about our relationship. I happened to fall in love with a human, and she loves me back." I looked at her adoringly.

Bree was stunned. If she was thirsting for Bella's blood, she was distracted enough by my confession.

"But how?" She asked. "How _old _are you?" She asked all of us in general.

Carlisle spoke up again. It looked like it was just us doing the explaining, but the others didn't mind.

"I just celebrated my 657th birthday, not too long ago." Bree's jaw dropped.

"The rest of us aren't as old." I said. "Carlisle turned me about a hundred years back."

_Almost 700 YEARS! And I thought _a year_ was top of the line old! _She thought.

I laughed, and then became more serious. "As you already know, some vampires have gifts, talents. I know Riley told the truth about at least that. I can read minds. Alice can see the future, and Jasper can control the emotions of the people around him." We all kept still while she took this in.

She took it well. "That's… Cool. What else don't I know about vamps?"

"Well, we glitter in the sun. But I think you already knew that too." Emmet piped up. "That's why we live in Forks. We've got the bare minimum sun here! Sometime it sucks, but we can interact with the humans without them knowing."

I noticed that Bella was quiet. She had barely said a word this whole time. I didn't worry about it. Either she was afraid of Bree, or she was just being her usual shy self.

Bree was becoming more comfortable with us. "Why do you 'interact' with them? Why do you bother?" She cast a quick glance at Bella, too fast for her to see.

Esme spoke. "We don't want to be monsters." She said simply. "Would you like to know more about the Cullen history?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Bree Tanner_

And so, the Cullens explained to me everything. I learned everything about their history, why and how they lived like this.

It took almost a day for it to sink in.

This was all so… Odd. New. Confusing… It's like my whole life had been a strange dream, and the Cullens were helping me wake up. Of course, every thing I new about myself had been a huge lie.

The only good memory I had from my life with Riley and the others was Diego, and I clung to that like it was a life vest. Everything else was so sad and lonely; he was what brought the happiness in my life, even though it was only for a short time.

When Carlisle found me, I gave up. I wanted to die. The only thing that made me happy was now gone forever, so what was the point in living? I wanted the four dark cloaks, the Volturi, to end it. But now, I'm not so sure. These yellow eyes… The Cullens, they live a lifestyle I thought was impossible. Maybe I was not so helpless after all? I wouldn't get my hopes up.

But maybe that's the end of it. They saved me, so now we should just part ways, say goodbye and get on with our lives? They all looked so happy and… _Together… _Maybe they don't need a burden like me.

But I was filled with a fierce hope that burned inside me like a flame, and I refused to give up. I would be… Good. I thought I wasn't bothered by all the killing I did in the past, but I had thought it was inevitable, so I dealt. Now that I know there is a way to _not _be a monster, I want to try it. For Diego.

Still, there were things I was not sure of. The mind reader, Edward, was attached to the human, Bella. He called it love. If Diego was human, would it be different between us? I hope not. I hope what we had was real. But I still did not understand why Bella stood up for me earlier.

It was almost unbearable to be in the same room as her. _Almost._ It was getting better, but Edward would rarely let me be near her, and when we happened to be in the same room, Jasper would be there for backup. But as tempting as she might be, the girl was growing on me. I admired her relationship with the Cullens. She was obviously head over heels with Edward, and him with her. Anyone could tell. But to learn his terrible secret and _still _want to be involved? That took guts. I guess she was blinded by love.

I also learned that she wished to become a vamp with Edward, so they could live together forever, but he wouldn't let her. Apparently he didn't want to 'take her life and soul away from her'… I agreed with both.

Even thought the strength and beauty was wicked cool sometimes, I didn't know anyone who would want to be a vamp. in their right mind. It was the end for her. But on the other hand, if they loved eachother and wanted to live together forever, and that was what she _wanted,_ then I don't see why not. Was Edward just going to let her get old and die? That wasn't right.

I had already told my story; I spilled shortly after they took me in. I was feeling pretty emotional, (considering I haven't felt much in the past while) so I told everything that would have been in my diary if I had one. They knew all about the people I killed, they even knew about Diego and our plan to escape. They accepted me.

And I was already fond of the rest of the family, too. Carlisle was like the father Riley never was, and Esme was like a mother. Since I never had a real family even in my human life, I was already getting attached to having a caring one. I reminded myself that it wouldn't last long.

Emmet was competitive by nature, and I could tell he was itching to make some kind of bet with me. I liked him already.

Rosalie had mostly ignored me so far, and I could tell she was mildly jealous of all the attention on me. She was your average beauty queen, but I had seen how she acted with the rest of her family, and it was clear she had a good heart.

Alice was a strong little thing, and I admired how she wouldn't let anyone take advantage of her size. She was sort of my secret role model; I wished I could be as loveable as her.

Jasper kept his distance, and I could tell he has had history with 'newborns' (I still didn't like being called that, it made me feel like a baby.). It was natural for him thought, considering his 'talent'. I didn't blame him for keeping his distance from strong emotions, which I have been experiencing in the past day or so.

But as much as I fancied living like them, I still had a decision to make. Fred was still would only be waiting for me for a few more hours, and I wanted badly to tell him what I learned, to give him the choice of lifestyle that I was considering at the moment.

"Carlisle?" I called hesitantly.

I was in the living room and he was beside me in an instant.

"Before the war," We called the whole thing with Victoria 'the war'. "I was friends with someone named Fred. He was one of the few that didn't trust Riley; he was smart. He was planning on running away right before the war, and Diego and I could join him. He told me to meet him at Riley Park, around sunset." I said.

This had caught the attention of the rest of the Cullens. Jasper, curious, strode in without a sound, and Alice followed. Bella was at home with her father, but only because it was his birthday and he wanted to spend quality time with her. The rest of the Cullens approached quietly.

"Oh," Carlisle said, misunderstanding. For a moment, I thought I saw a flash of disappointment cross his perfect face, but I couldn't be sure.

"No, no! I mean, if you want me to go…" I said awkwardly.

"Of course we don't want you to go!" Esme said, shocked. "We were actually going to ask you…" She looked at Carlisle. "We want you to become a part of this family, Bree. We would love for you to become a Cullen." She smiled, hopeful.

The meaning of her words only sunk in when she said 'become a Cullen'. That was when I realized I wanted to be a Cullen more than anything in the world. Surprised, I looked around the room at every face. My 'family's' faces were hopeful and encouraging, save for Rosalie. I was surprised to find a small smile on her lips. That was all it took.

"You… Want me to stay? You'll have me? I-I don't know what to say! I- Yes, of course!" I knew the outburst was a bit immature, but I couldn't help myself. I almost forgot that pain of Diego's murder at that moment. Almost.

All of a sudden, I was embraced by numerous people at once. Esme was holding me close, whispering 'Welcome to the family, dear!' while Emmet was patting her back saying to Jasper "I knew she'd say yes. Cough it up, Jazz."

My heart was aching. I felt… Loved. I liked the feeling. Then I remembered what I brought them in here to say.

"Look," I paused, laughing happily. "Like I said, Fred is waiting, and he won't wait much longer. I don't want to join him," I looked at my family and smiled. "But, he's so nice, and he doesn't deserve to go out into the world only knowing the lies Riley fed him. I'm sure he can handle himself… He has a gift too, but I'll explain that later. I just think he should know the truth, before he finds out the hard way."

"Of course, so you want to meet up with him just to say goodbye, and to explain things to him, right?" Carlisle asked, catching my drift. "Of course," He said again.

I noticed Emmet was getting excited. He stood up. "Yeah, and I want to come with. Haven't gotten outta this house in ages! I need some fun." Rosalie smacked him on his arm. "Fun," she scoffed. "What do you think I've been giving you the last century or so?"

Edward grimaced, while Alice laughed. Jasper rolled his eyes. "Please, spare me the details! I can already _feel _what you're thinking. Turn it down a notch, would'ya?"

I smiled. Being with them… It felt so, normal. Good, like we were a real family. I knew that I was a part of it now.

"Alright, enough!" Carlisle said chuckling quietly. Esme smacked him on the arm. He stopped laughing, but he had a small smirk on his face. I couldn't imagine the emotions Jasper was feeling at the moment.

"Alright, alright. Would you like us to come with you, Bree?" He asked me.

"Yes, please. He would never believe me if I told him you guys were… nice." I couldn't think of a more appropriate word. "Riley's been fooling into thinking you guys were evil. It'd be nice if he got to meet you for real."

"Then it's settled" He said, smiling. "We should probably go soon… But Riley park isn't too far from here, and Bree," He looked at me, at my eyes. "I think you should probably come hunting with us. Esme and I could come with you, and we should leave right now… Would you like to know how we vegetarians do it?"

I was curious about how they hunted, but I had only remembered my thirst until now. I was startled. For the past day, I had been so distracted I hadn't even noticed my thirst, and it had been a few days since I last hunted. Usually I would be dead thirsty by now, but it was just a sort of tingle in my throat.

Maybe it's just a side affect from being around Bella so much. Or maybe it's just because I've been feeling so _human,_ I thought. Whatever. I was excited and nervous about hunting the animals now.

I agreed quickly to the hunting trip, and it was decided that me, Esme and Carlisle were to leave shortly. Then we would set out for Riley Park.

A.N.

So yes, I noticed Bree had gotten over her thirst a bit quickly in the last chapter, so I added another twist to the story. Maybe Bella's talent was working over time on Bree, or maybe she had a talent of her own? Who knows. Not even me, yet. I'm planning on the next chapter being the big bang, where something huge happens. So watch out! I'll try to update soon. Thanks for reading!

P.S. I forgot the Parks name was where Fred was supposed to meet Bree, so you'll just have to settle for Riley Park.


	3. Chapter 3

_Bree Cullen_

"So," Carlisle started. Him, Esme and I had run into the deep forest next to their... _Our_ house.

"Our hunting is pretty similar to your hunting, except for the fact that they're, you know, animals." He grinned. "I think you might even enjoy it more, since the animals run. They put up quite a fight, unlike humans. In a way, they are more fun."

I had to admit, I liked the sound of that.

"I also think you should watch out for the mountain lions, too. Their blood is similar to the humans, and since you have spent such a long time living off of their blood, it might be easier for you." Because they're carnivores, I thought logically.

"So, that's the end of your lesson today, Bree. Just let your instinct take over." Carlisle suddenly was in a crouch, and he passed a side glance at me. "Have fun." Esme smiled generously at me before she leapt off into the trees, Carlisle running in a different direction. I supposed they didn't want to be near each other when they hunted; I knew what the crazed thirst was like and knew that it could easily over power any other emotion. They didn't want to get anyone hurt.

Think instinct, I told myself. Wait, no, just don't think. Like I usually do before hunting. It wasn't like it was the first time I hunted _ever…_

My senses were being filled with the nature that surrounded me, it was a nice feeling. Only hearing the breeze, the birds, the swish off the trees rubbing against each other… It was much nicer than the beeping horns and yelling pedestrians of the city.

My ears perked at the sound of a growl several miles away. I closed my eyes and let my senses focus on the spot. My thirst burned like a fire when I smelt the blood flow through clean veins, not drugged ones. It must have been a mountain lion, because I could smell the difference, but it wasn't a big one. My eyes snapped open and I started running towards the mouth watering smell.

I dodged trees and things easily, and in less than 15 seconds, I was close to my prey. I was hidden behind a bush, watching the lion play with a small mouse. The mouse was dead, and the lion was pushing it around with its paws, almost purring. Huh. Weird. It had quite a surprise coming.

I couldn't wait any longer. Gracefully, I leapt out of the mass of trees and tackled the huge animal. It was at least twice my size, but I brought it down with ease. Carlisle was right; they _did _put up a fight. It was accelerating.

The lion growled and scratched under my weight, but I never let it take a bite of me. I tried my best to keep my plain white t-shirt and kakis clean, but the lion got a handful of my pants and I ended up with a ripped bottom. _Oh no, you don't._

I was getting annoyed with the creature, and my thirst, so I found the pulse of the lion, and bit down. Hard.

Blood washed down my throat and I had a sense of pleasure. Its blood was, in a way, nicer than a human's. Definitely not as delicious as the humans had been on the boat, before the war, but it was better than the contaminated blood I drank to keep attention away from Riley.

After a while, I felt the mountain lion go limp under my weight. It made it much easier for me to rearrange myself and get a better place to suck from. The blood kept filling me up, healthy and vibrant.

When I was done, I threw the animal away and smiled. A mountain lion had the blood of almost two humans. I was beginning to like this lifestyle.

I sniffed the air once again, and caught the scent of Carlisle, somewhere east. I ran to find him.

By the time I reached him, he was already finished with a deer he caught. I jealously looked at his completely clean, fresh state, and thought, _Oh well. I guess practice makes perfect. Especially when you have 700 years of practice. _

"Bree!" He said excitedly. "How did you like it? What was the difference between the humans and the," He sniffed the air. "Mountain lion. Good catch?" He asked. The others had warned me that Carlisle was a brilliant doctor, so I was ready for the questions he bombarded me with.

I turned toward the south at the same time as him, where I heard Esme approach. When she joined us, we made our way back home, with me answering Carlisle's questions.

When we were back, we prepared to leave for Riley Park. It was decided me, Carlisle, Edward and Jasper would go, and the rest would stay home. I knew if we all went at once, he would be scared to death, put his power on high and we would never find him. Edward would be helpful because of the mind reading, Jasper _had _to go in case he needed to help with a crazy 'newborn', (I still hated to use the term) and Carlisle was the controlled, calm one who would introduce himself and his family.

We set out on foot. I didn't have a passport, and there was no way we could get through customs without wasting precious time.

So, with a change of clothes and a brand new confidence, I set out with my family to Riley Park.

_Fred_

I had been waiting for a day. I should've been gone by now, but I just couldn't leave. I wouldn't believe she was dead. I made myself as visible as possible in case she saw me before I saw her, but I was sure that wouldn't happen. I was watching closely.

Some of the mothers were keeping their children away from me. I hadn't hunted since the fiesta on the cruise ship, and I wasn't sure if I could stay this close to humans much longer.

Today, thank god, was a cloudy day. I had been suspicious of Riley for a while now, and when I talked to Bree, my suspicions were confirmed. I discovered I could go into the sun without burning to death like we had been fooled into thinking, but we merely glittered. It was actually funny when I thought about it. I mean, glittering? Really? _That's_ what we were worrying about all this time?

If I had somewhere to go, I would be gone. But that was the problem. I had nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to live for. That's why I invited Bree and Diego to join me. I just wanted _company._

But now that Bree's dead, there's no one else I'd rather have travel with me. Bree was smart, she didn't talk too much, wasn't unnecessary, useless baggage. I wouldn't stand for anyone else.

But now that she wasn't coming with me… I don't know why I'm hanging around, I thought to myself.

Diego was a different story. While I was on my way here, I caught his scent. Going the _opposite _way from where the rest were fighting the 'yellow eyes'.

The moment I thought that, I smelled something. It wasn't a human… No, it wasn't a stray dog or anything either. Curious I sniffed the air again. Oh god, it was… A _vampire._

And then, four figures appeared from behind a building. Four vampires. One of them was Bree.

Not recognizing the other three, I turned my power up full notch. Bree looked directly at me.

I gasped. I couldn't help it. I knew Bree was familiar with my talent, but she shouldn't be able to bear to glance past me right now. I listned in.

One blond, very good looking one, started. "Wow, your friend certainly does have a useful power. I can't even look at that bench right now."

Alarmed, I crouched into defensive position and hissed. _Traitor, _I thought. Bree told the yellow eyes of my secret weapon.

One tall vampire with bronze hair stopped. "Don't be alarmed, we don't want to hurt you, Fred. Were friends of Bree." He said.

"Fred," Bree continued in a voice that only the vamps. could hear. "Riley lied to us. You of all people should know that. These yellow eyes, they're good! They want to help us."

I looked her up and down. She _looked _fine, but how could I trust her? I didn't really trust anyone anymore. Still, I eased up on my 'invisibility'.

"Fred!" Bree exclaimed when she saw me. She ran to me and hesitantly spoke. "I haven't come to join you, Fred, I'm sorry. But these yellow eyes, they're _hundreds of years old!_ They know so much about vampires! All the lies Riley told us, all these lies could be cleared up. They taught me things I never would've dreamed of, and I've only been with them for a _day._" She said.

I didn't take my eyes off the other three. "Riley said there were _seven._ And a human." I spoke through my teeth.

"There are," Bree said. "But they're at home. I didn't want to bring the whole gang. I knew it might scare you, and you wouldn't give them a chance."

I paused, looking at their faces. There were two blonds, one who was more of a honey blond than the other. The first blond who spoke looked slightly older than the others, more in his early twenties than the other two boys, who looked like they could've been in high school. But I didn't judge their appearances just yet, because of what Bree said. _Hundreds of years?_ Riley was the oldest vampire I ever knew, and he was just barely on year.

I sighed. "Okay. I trust you."

_Bree Cullen _

Even though it took a while for Fred to trust us enough to explain, we sat down and had a long talk. I was surprised at Fred's reaction, which was extremely chill and calm, like he already knew or something. I shouldn't have been surprised though, because it was Fred. He was always catching me by surprise.

Of course, I could tell he was uncomfortable from the moment he found out Edward was a mind reader, _and _in a relationship with a human. I laughed inwardly at the thought of him thinking he was a complete weirdo, just like my first reaction to him had been. The best part was, he knew _exactly _what he was thinking of him.

But when we told him about the Cullen's choice of lifestyle, I knew he wouldn't approve. Whatever thoughts of having a new family member Carlisle was having, I knew Fred wouldn't go for it. He was more of a solo guy anyway.

The sun was setting when we finished talking. Fred spoke up.

"Well, I'm glad you're alive Bree, and that you have found something you want to do. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate you guys coming all the way here to… Open my eyes."

I was touched. Fred has never even talked to me before the war, and now he was getting out a full 'Thank you'. I was proud.

But my breath stopped short when I heard Fred ask me something.

"Have you met up with Diego yet? This morning I caught his scent going towards some place called… Port Angeles…"

My eyes must have been the size of saucers. This morning would've been after the war…

"Did you catch when he passed by?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Yeah, it smelled like he ran through there at about 8:45…" He looked at me, his face unreadable. He must've been wondering why I was reacting so strongly…

The war ended last night at 10:25 p.m. If Diego was on his way to Port Angeles at 8:45 this morning, it would mean he was still alive when the war went on. And after the war went on. It would mean he was probably in Port Angeles right now. Alive.


	4. Chapter 4

_Edward Cullen_

So far the 'trip' had been going well. Fred, for a newborn, had been fairly well controlled around the humans in the park. I kept a close eye on him and Jasper even closer, so he couldn't have gotten a bite if he tried, not that he did. Even so, every once in a while, I could swear I caught a hint of hunger in his blood red eyes. Jasper was tense. He didn't trust Fred.

Strangely, I did though. His mind was odd; it was harsh, like it was missing happiness, and any other positive thoughts. He also didn't trust easily… I wondered if something had happened to him in his childhood. Probably. Bree told us that Riley only turned the ones that wouldn't be missed, that had either been druggies or runaways, like herself.

But Fred knew I could read minds, and put a shield around his thoughts like armour. I could still get the things he was thinking at the moment, but he wouldn't think about anything remotely important or revealing.

So when Fred confirmed to us that Diego was possibly alive, I dug through his mind to find the lie. Oh he's good; I thought when I didn't find anything but sincerity in the information. I even found the memory of him smelling Diego on his way to Port Angeles.

But it didn't make any sense, I thought. I heard Bree weeping in her mind about this Diego, about how she was sure he was dead. She was absolutely certain about it, and I could tell if she had the slightest doubt, she would be out looking for him now.

But maybe she didn't know for sure… But was somehow convinced?

Fred said he passed by at about 8:45 this morning. I made the mental calculations, and knew he would definitely be in Port Angeles by now. But what if he didn't stop? We didn't know for sure where he was headed…

Meanwhile, Bree looked like she couldn't breath. Of course, she could, but she was as still as a statue and looked distant and "in La-La-Land" as Bella would say.

_The war ended last night at 10:25 p.m. If Diego was on his way to Port Angeles at 8:45 this morning, it would mean he was still alive when the war went on. And after the war went on. It would mean he would probably in Port Angeles right now. Alive_.

I tried to make sense of what she was thinking, but it was no use. I'd have to ask her later…

I needed to end this, quickly.

"Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you, and help you out, Fred. Please know if you ever change your mind about your choice of lifestyle…" I threw in for Carlisle's benefit. "You're always welcome at our home. We best be on our way now…"

"Yes, okay. Thanks again. Bye Bree." He said slowly. He got up, and I could practically see him fight against his thirst. I tried not to think of the innocent human he was going to murder soon.

He didn't wait for any of us to answer, got up, and sped away. Jasper was fuming about his lack of hiding his identity in such plain sight, but other than that he really had no idea about Diego, and what Fred was talking about.

"Let's go." I said under my breath.

Bree looked up at me. "You know." She said. "I know you can read my mind, and I know you know all about Diego. You know why I'm being like this. Please," Carlisle and Jasper were confused as hell, but figured it was something between us and turned away. Like that would give us any privacy.

"Please," She repeated. "I thought he was dead! And now… I don't know anymore. I have to go after him." She said, determined, and I could tell there was nothing we could do to stop her.

I sighed. "Okay…" I said hesitantly. "Why don't you tell us the whole story first."

So she did. She told us that from the beginning, she knew Diego was different, was someone special. And when he wasn't at the war, she assumed he was dead…

"I knew Riley was lying about him meeting up with me at the war. It would've been too easy. Nothing is easy anymore." She told us.

Carlisle, as passionate as he was, assured her. "Of course, we'll find him! We'll do whatever it takes, Bree. If he meant that much to you, of course we'll help you find him."

Jasper, who usually avoided strong emotion, (which Bree was having right now, having a complete meltdown, actually) was surprisingly touched. He love Alice more than anything in the world, and could relate to Bree wanting to find her loved one.

"I'm in. I want to meet this 'Diego'. 'S he a good gambler?" He grinned.

Bree let out a shaky laugh. "You guys for real? You'll help me find him?"

"Of course!" Carlisle said, shocked that she would dare to think otherwise.

"Well we should probably leave as soon as possible; we don't want to lose his trail." I pitched in.

_Bella Swan_

The sun was out and shining today, for once. It made me in a glum mood.

"What's up?" Charlie asked me this morning. It was his birthday today, and somehow it made him notice my mood? I don't know.

"Nothing" I sighed. "Happy birthday, dad." I smiled a fake smile, and thankfully, he bought it.

He smiled back, and gave me a hug. Charlie wasn't great with emotions, and neither was I, so I was glad we weren't about to have an emotional break-down together.

Things were good between me and Edward, but I was disappointed in the lack of time we spent together since Bree became a Cullen. I had nothing against Bree, in fact, I actually _liked _her. That's why I pleaded for her in the first place. But as selfish as it sounded, I wanted Edward all to myself.

But I guess, for the first while, Bree needed the whole family with her. So I guess I would have to wait until I got to spend quality time with him…

And even better, today just happened to be one of those rare sunny days in Forks. So I wouldn't even see him until tonight. Charlie, who didn't know about the whole 'tonight' thing, seemed actually pretty happy. He knew the Cullen's 'went camping' on sunny days, and was thrilled to see me taking my truck to school this morning, alone. Then again, maybe he was just happy because it was his birthday.

When I got home from school, Charlie was waiting for me. He looked anxious.

"Bella, you're home!" He smiled. He was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, folding and unfolding his hand.

"Listen, I'm just going to get to the point. I know it's my birthday and we were planning on having a nice dinner, but Billie just called and fishing's supposed to be great today! He told me he already caught more than enough trout to last us the-"

"Dad!" I stopped him. "It's no big deal, we can have a nice dinner tomorrow night. Better late than never, huh?" I smiled. I didn't mind Charlie going out for the day. It's his birthday, he can do whatever he wants to do on his special day.

He laughed, and then sighed, like a great weight was lifted off his shoulders.

"Thanks, Bell. Have I ever told you you're easy to live with? And don't worry about the dishes, I can do 'em tonight when I get back…"

"Dad! It's alright!" I laughed as I pulled him out of his chair and into a hug. "I got it. You go and have fun."

He smiled. "Thanks, Bell." He said again.

As soon as his car was out of the driveway, I was on the phone calling my favourite vampire.

_Bree Cullen_

When we got back home, everything was in motion. Carlisle, me, Jasper and Emmet would go to Port Angeles as soon as possible. Edward was supposed to go too, but after a phone call from Bella, it was obvious he wanted to stay.

And Emmet, who missed out last time, looked as if he would tear the house down if he was left behind once more. He was definitely growing on me...

Carlisle was throwing cash into a bag when I heard Alice call out.

"Bree? Come here."

I looked up, startled. I haven't had much time to spend with my new sister, Alice, but I could definitely hear the urgency in her voice, so different from her usual preppy cheery aura. I was beside her in a fraction of a second.

"What is it?" I asked. Edward was there also. He looked into my eyes, and while I couldn't tell what he was thinking, it was written all over his face. I knew he had also seen whatever Alice had.

"I-I had a vision." Alice shook her head, and then looked directly into my eyes. "It's Diego."


	5. Chapter 5

_Alice Cullen_

The moment Bree made the decision to find her lover, Diego, I had a bad feeling about it. So, of course, I was keeping tabs.

But then I guess Diego made some kind of decision. I don't know what it was, or how it happened, but the vision came the second after I assume he made it.

So I was sitting in my closet thinking about how much I needed to go shopping, when my designer clothes, purses, shoes and accessories faded away from my vision, and was replaced by the scene of a late night on the streets of Port Angeles.

Visions are funny like that. The visions Edward see's in my head are different, so he describes them as like watching a movie. I can't blame him, since technically he _is_ in the passenger seat. I like to interpret them as like being in a dream, where sometimes you are in the scene, and other times you are watching it from the outside.

I gasped, and immediately Edward was in my head, and Jasper was by my side. I reached my hands out to Jazz to let him know I was okay, but temporarily blind. I felt him sit beside me as he waited for me to come back.

And then I was completely gone, unaware of my surroundings in reality. It was like sleepwalking.

I was standing on the side of the sidewalk, across the street from a bar I recognized from Port Angeles. I made a mental note of where I was. It's the little things you mostly have to pay attention to in visions, because what's the point of knowing what's going to happen if you don't know when, where, why?

So I looked around at the night sky, and guessed it to be around 11:30 p.m.

Behind me came a rustling noise. In a flash my vision was focused on this figure. This was the 'outside' part. Now I couldn't control where I was looking, now I knew that this person was somehow the main character in my vision of the future.

The person was a male, I couldn't tell how old. He was sitting on the ground in an alley behind the bar with his head in his hands, shoulders shaking like he was weeping. I knew he was a vampire, though, so he was, what we Cullens call it, having a 'dry cry'.

I couldn't have talked to him if I wanted to, since I technically wasn't there, so I stood there watching him weep until he was finished.

Since, like I said, I was just watching, I didn't smell the intruder that was watching this man.

The man obviously did. His shoulders stopped shaking, and his head snapped up, aware that he was being watched.

He frantically looked around at an impossible speed, like he didn't know where he was, or how he got there. He looked terrified.

For a split second I caught a glimpse of his face. He looked around seventeen or eighteen, but his terrified state made him look years younger. He was beautiful and striking, with dark hair and black eyes that could make any woman fall head over heels. But because of his dark, dark eyes, I knew he hadn't fed in quite some time, and was suffering because of it.

My vision flashed, and a million images were flashing by at once. I caught some scenes, and then they disappeared. It finally settled on one.

The back door of the bar named The Bumper opened, and out came a man who looked like he was in his early thirties, his hands around the waist of what looked like an eighteen year old girl.

The girl laughed at something the man said. She was clearly drunk.

My vision focused again on the man, who was going crazy with thirst. I was surprised he made it this long without attacking.

The moment I thought this, he jumped up and was on the girl. With speed that was invisible to the man, he snapped her neck and began drinking. The man, who had barely processed what had just happened, ran away.

I watched painfully as he drank the warm, fresh blood of the girl. I didn't like watching this.

About half way through the mans meal, he was interrupted.

A fierce hiss ripped through the night. And four figures immerged from the shadows.

My vision cut off and I got flashes of different things. These intruders were undecided.

There were two females and two male, one of the male who was clearly the leader. He had rich, creamy, olive skin, and even in the dark, I could tell he was as gorgeous as the rest of us. Their red eyes confirmed the obvious.

"_No. _Get _away!_" The leader growled. The man finally looked up, startled, dropped the half drained girl, and began circling the intruder.

"_My _food. _My food!_" The leader yelled again. So this was a _territory_ thing. I got it now. These were not very civilized vampires, I thought. They wouldn't put up very much of a skilled fight, but neither would this young one. I guess numbers _do _rule sometimes.

The two circled each other again; the others behind in the shadows, watching their leader handle this, but ready to jump in at any time. The young man I was watching before had no chance. His best bet was to run away, _now._

But the vampire was drunk with blood, and clearly thought he could handle this small coven. So it was him that attacked first, a sloppy dive, head first.

My vision skipped again, and images were swirling around my head. I caught glimpses of the young vampire getting torn apart, literally, by his opponents. And then other images, confusing ones, of the man running away.

But then my vision focused, and I saw him fighting all four of them, and losing. Badly. I hated watching.

And then, as one of the females whined, "Hurry _up,_ I'm hungry. Finish _up _already." and the other lit a match, I heard a scream.

_DIEGO!_

And then I was sucked out of the alley behind the bar, and back into reality.

I sucked in a sharp breath. It was _the_ Diego. _Brees _Diego, the one they were about to set out after. My brain did the math easily. _One_ person in my family could take those four crazed newborns on their own, but the question was, could they get there on time?

I called out to Bree. She had to know.

When she was in my room, I could tell she was worried. Her eyes flashed dangerously back and forth from Edwards and my eyes. I was afraid that, as a newborn, she would snap. That would just kill whatever time she had left, so I prayed that she would stay calm.

"It's Diego," I said hesitantly. "He's in trouble. Edward will explain on the way. Go. _Now._"

_Edward Cullen_

After a brief phone call to Bella telling her to stay calm and that I would be back before tomorrow morning, I was off with Carlisle, Jasper, Emmet and Bree to Port Angeles to a bar named The Bumper, to find Diego, Brees boyfriend/lover/partner, and hopefully get there on time before he doesn't get brutally murdered by a gang of crazy wild vampires… Okay, so the situation was tough. But what could you do? I would go through this, times a _million _to save Bella.

So we were in my Volvo, me in the drivers seat, (I tend to drive the quickest out of all of us) Bree in the passenger seat, and the rest of my brothers and father in the back. But none were complaining.

_Diego _

I couldn't take it anymore. Losing Bree was like dying. There was nothing left inside me, nothing left to live for. Bree made my heart feel like it was beating again, for the first time since my life had changed forever. Now that she was gone… My heart felt cold and dead once again.

So my life at the moment was mainly just wandering around, and feeding. That's it. After following Riley's scent to god knows where, I knew it was over. So from there, I wandered east to this place… Port Angeles, apparently.

And _man, _was I thirsty. I had never gone this long without feeding before. But I didn't want to hunt. I just wanted to be alone.

Somehow, I ended up in an alley behind this bar. I sat down and leaned my back against the cool brick wall behind me. I leaned my head back onto it and listened to the pulsing disco music coming from inside the club. I went farther, listening through the thin walls to some peoples conversations, a man ordering a drink for some girl, the disgusting sound of a man describing to his friend which girl he was going to 'take home tonight'. I could smell the sweat and the puke of dozens of drunk, sweaty body's pressed together grinding to the music.

Yep, this was the average fun night out for a human.

I tuned the noise out of my mind, put my head in my hands, and started crying.

I hadn't cried in a very, _very _long time. Not even when I was human and going through drugs and all sorts of shit, crying was as low as you got, was the end of the food chain. It meant you were an emotional piece of shit, and nobody wanted that. So I didn't cry. Ever.

But now I just couldn't keep it inside. So I cried.

I stayed like that for a minute or two until I smelled something. It was definitely a vampire. No, more than one. And not too far away either. I stiffened.

Then the back door to the bar opened, and out came a man and a _very _young girl. I forgot about the noise and my moment of weakness, and focused on the pulsing blood through the girls veins.

Here wasn't the ideal place to do it, especially with another human witness and the vamps somewhere close, so I tried to hold back, but I just couldn't. I snapped, and attacked the girl.

The moment I was on her I snapped her neck, making it a quick death. I didn't pay attention to the male, but I assumed he took off. Good idea.

The blood was tainted with alcohol, but was still warm and fresh, and nothing I wasn't used to. I drank up, forgetting about the intruders.

Until one of them spoke.

"_No_. Get _away_!" someone said, and I dropped the girl, half way done. _Oh well, it's better than nothin'._

I spun around, feeling better already, and looked at my visitors. There were four of them, two girls and two men. They were in attack position, so I crouched in a defensive pose and began circling them.

The one male, who seemed to be the leader, spoke. "My food. _My _food!"

I saw the others trade an annoying glance at the _my._ They looked like very wild, uncivilized vampires. They were clearly only worried about their territory, like dogs. I bet I could take 'em.

The leader and I circled again, his posse in the shadows, waiting for some kind of signal, I bet. I made my move first.

Okay, I'll admit, it wasn't the cleanest dive, but I tried my best. By the time my flailing body had reached the leader, he had his arms around my body and threw me at the brick wall next to us. _Hard._

I felt the pain before I even realized what happened, but I caught up quickly. The leader had thrown me through an entire wall, into what it seemed like an empty warehouse beside the bar. I was up in an instant, but it was too late.

The leader gave some sort of sharp whistle, and the rest of his coven was around me. The other male picked me up and threw me again, not as far this time. He was next to me in an instant, and kicked me hard in my stomach. A female was lighting a match.

"Hurry _up,_ I'm hungry. Finish _up _already." I heard the other female complain. I cursed at the bitch when I heard someone scream my name.

"_DIEGO!_"

And then there was chaos all around me.

A.N.

Hey! So I just want to apologize for taking so long on this chapter, I've been kinda having some writers block. Bleh. And I also know there wasn't much dialogue in this one too, but I didn't find there to need much in this chapter, so I left it this way. And I just want to warn you, its summer time and I'm going away for two weeks, so you're going to have to wait until I get back so I can get started on a new chapter. But I noticed I have been getting lots of reviews! I thank you all for that; you have no idea how happy it makes me. I gotta tell you, if I didn't have this many great reviews, I probably wouldn't continue with this story. But so far it has been fun writing it, and I hope to continue. (Which is code for 'keep the reviews coming!') Anyways, I guess I'm dragging this out but, if you have any suggestions for my writing style or my plot or anything else, let me know! I read all of the reviews, and take them very seriously! Have a great summer!

P.S. In the next chapter, you're going to find out the complete version of Diego's side of the story, before and after the war! I'm planning on it being very interesting, and I will guarantee you it will not be a dry chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

_Diego_

The two female vampires looked up at the cry, annoyed, while the two males barely noticed. It was me who lost my breath.

The only people on the whole planet, who knew my name, were a huge gang of vampires who were all murdered around a couple days ago. I was stunned, craning my neck in the direction of the voice.

Too fast to register it, the mob of crazed vampires was attacked.

They were coming in all directions. I couldn't tell how many of them there were, but they were easily tearing apart the people who just moments ago were kicking _my _ass. I curled up, my knees under my chin, my back against the alley wall. I didn't know how, but I just _knew _running would get me nowhere in this situation.

The new vampires growled in challenge, and the old vampire's attention was all on them. I was quickly forgotten when the new ones attacked, putting up a far more skilled fight than them. After a few moments in battle, it was clear who was going to win.

I waited for one of these new vampires to come for me.

But that didn't happen. It was like I was invisible to them. I then remembered the person who called my name. The voice was the one of a girls, and there were no females here fighting. I wondered, who had said it, and why?

I sat there, terrified, watching the vampires fight. There were four of them, all males, between the ages of seventeen to about twenty-five. I slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, as I realized they were not going to attack me. I wondered, in the back of my head, if they were saving me for last.

One of the female vampires from the first clan was fighting a new vampire. I noticed that the one who was fighting her was tall, lean and blond, maybe in his early twenties. I also noticed the gleam in his eye as he dodged her attack easily, took her by the arm and tossed her effortlessly on the ground. He was beside her in a moment and when she made a move for his neck, he stuck his knee in her gut and, looking disgusted, twisted her neck sharply off her shoulders.

My eyes must have been the size of saucers, because then he looked directly into my eyes. I made some sort of chocking sound. His eyes were golden.

Right about then, the other three vampires had finished off with their opponents. I wasn't surprised. One of them, a big guy who reminded me strangely of a grizzly bear, threw each body and its body parts in a pile, while another, lankier boy with honey blond hair took the fallen lighter off the ground and tossed it into the pile. It took fire immediately, smoke rolling off of them along with a smell that made me gag.

I could hear myself breathing; my breaths short and strangled, as if I needed air.

They all looked at me with curious eyes, as I thought;

_What the hell is going on here?_

_Bree Cullen_

I wanted to see him so bad it hurt. My chest tightened as I heard him speak to my family.

"I-Um, uh, thank you?"

The way he said it made it sound like a question. He must be scared to death right now! I wish I could come out, but Edward had told me to stay hidden until the fight was over. I was on my knees behind a dumpster one building away. I waited painfully for Edward to say the word. We didn't exactly have a plan; except for, do your best not to scare him away. I was still thrilled that we had gotten here on time, but I was worried about his condition.

I did exactly what I was told not to do, and stuck my head around the corner of the building, so I could see what was going on. I highly doubted Diego would take his eyes off of the new strangers long enough to see me. The second I thought that, I saw Edward discreetly roll his eyes.

My eyes searched desperately for the familiar figure. When I saw him, it was like the whole world had stopped. Everything was just _revolving _around him. I watched, relieved, his perfect body already healing itself, the way his eyes flashed back and forth between the people in front of him, I loved it all.

I loved him.

Carlisle had taken things into his own hands. "You don't need to worry, we won't hurt you. We're… I guess you could say, the good guys." He said softly, and ended the phrase with a quick wink.

While Carlisle's voice was soothing and in control, Diego wasn't convinced. I didn't blame him. He had just watched these _yellow eyes_ slaughter a gang of four vampires, no problemo. And they were trying to make him believe they were good?

But I knew they were good.

"Listen, Diego." Edward said. He was about to start talking again when Diego finally spoke once more.

"How do you know _my name_?" He snarled. He backed up against the wall again.

"Listen, I know your leader, Riley, told you things about us," Edward gestured to his eyes. "The _yellow eyes_, but you must know that they were all lies. We know things, and we can explain to you. We have lived very, _very _much longer than you." He said.

"And, we also have a friend who would like to see you." He said before Diego had a chance to respond.

Edward turned to look at me, and I knew it was my turn to come out.

_Okay, show time…_

I stood up slowly, and walked into the alley. I realized I had been holding my breath.

When I walked in, all I could see was Diego. The rest was just details, whereas Diego, this person standing in front of me was my reason for living. I wanted to jump in his arms and cry with joy. But I waited for his reaction.

_Diego_

This evening had been so weird. I didn't know whether to trust or not to trust these yellow eyes. I ran behind the facts. We had already determined that almost everything Riley had told us was lies, and these guys _did _look sincere. I stayed where I was, ready for anything.

But when the boy with the bronze hair called out to someone behind the dumpster a building away, I was confused. I just wanted to get out of there. And then, well…

I heard someone walking slowly toward me. I looked up-and then my whole world was spinning.

At first I didn't believe it was her. Riley had said something about special talents, was it possible they were fooling me into thinking it was her?

But everything about her, the way she walked, the way her hair was always windblown, a dark mess around her beautiful face like she had just gone running… It couldn't be an illusion.

And then she spoke.

"Diego? Diego- It's me." She looked at me, hope in her eyes.

Bree.

The one I fell for,

The one who should be dead…

I snapped out of my little world, and looked her in the eye.

"Bree," My voice was small, vulnerable. I took a deep breath, and said in a stronger voice;

"No. You're dead."

Despite everything, she gave a little laugh. Oh yes, It was definitely her. I would know that laugh anywhere.

"I could say the same about you. I thought- I thought…"

She gave in, and ran into my arms. I was ready to catch her.

I wrapped my arms protectively around her, burying my face into her neck. Could it be? Did I have my Bree back?

After a few moments, I realized the yellow eyes were still there, watching us. I narrowed my eyes at them. I still didn't know what to think.

Bree must've felt me tense, because she pulled back to look at my face, and then at the yellow eyes. "Diego, they're good. They saved me. Those dark cloakes that we saw… They're the Volturi, and they were going to kill me, but they _saved me_. And they taught me so many things… Don't you want to know the truth? The real truth?" She looked into my eyes.

They looked at me, and then at Bree with friendly eyes.

"Okay. Yeah, sure."

I grabbed Brees hand. I couldn't get enough of her. She was beaming, it was a sexy look on her. It was still sinking in that she was alive… And that we were together. I was starting to think that maybe we were meant to be, that fate must've put us together.

The yellow eyes introduced themselves.

With a smile, the tall blond went first. "Hello, I'm Carlisle. I am the father of our family." I was confused. "There are more than just us in our clan. But we don't like to think of ourselves like that, we're more like a family. My wife Esme and I have… Adopted, I guess you could say, all of our sons and daughters into our family. It's complicated." He smirked. Yes, there was a lot of explaining to do.

"I'm Edward." The one with the bronze hair said. "Like Riley said, some of us have talents. I can read minds."

Wait, what?

Edward sighed. "This might take a while. Would you come to our home with us so we can explain? And you can meet the rest of the family."

I looked at Bree. She nodded encouragingly. I sighed. I knew then that I would stay by her side forever, even if it required trusting a bunch of yellow-eyed maniacs. I hope 'Edward' heard that.

I looked at them. "Okay. Bring me to your lair, Dracula."

_Bree Cullen _

Diego took it even better than I thought he would. He nodded slowly at all of their explanations, all the while looking at me adoringly. I was so happy that he was here, with me, I thought I would explode.

We sat on the love seat, holding hands, when my family ended their story. It was the same one I got, so I knew what he was going through. Doubt, confusion, fear, but in the end, he nodded one last time, looked at me and smiled.

"Yellow isn't really my color… But I'd like to give this vegetarian diet a shot."

"Really? Diego that's great!" I was so happy for him, for us. We were starting a new life, together.

Diego seemed to get along great with all of them, especially Edward. They were like brothers instantly. He was fascinated with their gifts, and their knowledge of the vampire world. He hoped to one day be as old as Carlisle, whom he looked up to already as a role model.

But there was one thing I needed to know.

"Diego?" I said. It was several hours later, and we were all still sitting I the living room, talking and talking. Diego knew about Bella, but they hadn't met yet. Edward was still very overprotective of her.

I touched his arm softly, and he looked at me, his eyes shining. I loved to see him so happy. I looked at him seriously. "Diego. Tell me what happened that day when you went to talk to Riley."

He frowned. But then he intertwined his fingers through mine, and started explaining.

" It took me a while to find him. He was fast. But when I caught up to him, he was mad. He kept yelling stuff like 'You weren't supposed to hear that!' and 'Why, why did _you _have to be the stupid curious one!' It was weird. I told him to calm down, I just wanted some answers." He looked at me again.

"So I asked him about the light, and how we don't burn when it touches us. I told him I didn't care if he lied to us, I just wanted to know why, and what else we didn't know. But then he gets really calm and quiet, which is even scarier than yelling." He looked around sheepishly.

So he looks at me and sais, 'Great. Now… Now _she _will want me to kill you. You were just supposed to go along with it, and then everything would have been fine!' So I ask him '_She _is our creator, the one in the shack, right?' And he sais yes. But he wouldn't tell me anymore. He said that I had to go get far far away from there, or else _she, _Victoria, would kill me. He said we would leave for battle in the next few days, but I was to run away and never come back. The only reason he didn't kill me right then and there was because I was his favourite." He smirked. "If heartless monsters can have favourites."

"But I couldn't just leave without you, Bree. I told him to pass along a message that when the battle was done, you could meet me in Port Angeles, at that stupid bar. I didn't have time to think of a better meeting place." I chuckled.

"I told him that to believe the message was mine, he'd have to use our little inside joke, about the handshake. I knew if you didn't have proof it was me; there was no way you would believe him. But he twisted it to protect his ass, to get me to get lost. He told you that I would meet you there, didn't he?"

I nodded sadly. I was giving myself a hard time for believing Riley's lies while I could have been looking for Diego.

"Hey," He had noticed. "It's not you fault. He had the handshake thing, something only we knew. Of course you believed him. I would have, too." He soothed.

"So anyway, you went into the death battle, thinking I would be there, while I was waiting for you in Port Angeles. It was well done, on Riley's part.

"But after a whole day had gone by, I was worried. I knew if I went back to our last house quick enough, I might be ably to catch the scent, and follow it to wherever you were. But when I got there, everyone was burnt to the ground…" He trailed off, a haze covering his eyes. He looked at me.

"You have no idea, what it was like, thinking I'd lost you." He whispered, his hands running through my hair, like he couldn't believe I was really there.

"Oh yes, I do know what its like," I whispered fiercely. "But it doesn't matter anymore. It's okay now. We're together." I smiled, and stroked his face with my cold hands.

He leaned in slowly, and our lips met half way. The kiss was soft, but urgent, his hands knotting in my hair, mine in his. I pressed closer to him; wanting to be as close as possible to the man I loved.

I broke apart suddenly, barely noticing that the room was quiet, that the Cullens had given us some privacy.

"Diego," I said, breathing quickly. "I love you."

He smiled and challenged me. "Not half as much as I love you." He said with a smirk, and we fell back onto the couch, entangled in each other.

_A.N._

So… How was it? I think next chapter you're in for a surprise. Like maybe one of the two will discover they have a gift…? And I'm planning on bringing Bella into it a bit more. We'll see. Review!


	7. Chapter 7

**So… The winner for my mini contest/search for ideas is…**

**AnnaCullen (Annabelle)**

**AND (that's right; there is more than one winner!)**

**MiatheMinion (Mia)**

**!**

**(You guys's answers were just too good! I couldn't pick just one! Mhm, I think I would probably be a bad judge… 10 points to all of you!)**

**But I'm going to switch it up a little. Annabelle's answer will go to Bree, and Mia's answer for Bree will go to Diego. Might sound a bit confusing, but just read on and it will make sense. Hopefully. And yes, I'm making a character for both of you, but remember I am only using your names, and not your looks, personality, blah blah blah, so if your character turns out to be a evil bitch, don't take it personally. :P**

**P.S. – I'm going to introduce the talents and the new characters in the next few chapters, so don't expect a full conclusion to my contest in this one chapter. **

**Hope you guys like it!**

_Bella Swan_

I lay in my bed, asleep, listening to the distant sound of the game Charlie was watching downstairs, staring ahead at the ceiling. I sighed.

It was sad that, the only word I could use to describe my state was… Boredom.

It's been a few days since I had seen Edward. He had called me here and there, but I needed to _see _him. To _smell _that intoxicating smell, to _feel _his cold lips against mine… I was making myself dizzy.

I groaned and rolled over. The bed was too empty and hot without him. I tried to distract myself. I wondered how Jessica and Mike were doing. Jessica hadn't been talking to me as much since graduation. I mean, she was still calling and being friendly, but, she never gushed to me about how 'Mike did this' and 'Mike did that' anymore. I smiled at myself, thinking sometimes it was nice to have her chattering me from class to class. I would miss her.

I closed my eyes, and felt a slight breeze on my back, coming from the open window. I couldn't roll over quick enough, not even trying to disguise my excitement. In a moment I was on the edge of my bed, tangled in my sheets.

Edwards's hair was windblown, just the way I loved it. He chuckled quietly at me.

"I wasn't sure if you were awake. I'm sorry I haven't been coming for the past few nights. It's been… Crazy."

He came and lay down beside me. I leaned into him, breathing in his scent. Now _that _made me dizzy.

"It's okay. I'm glad you came tonight. I've missed you."

He laughed again. "As I have missed you, Bella. I think things are calming down at home, though. Tomorrow's Saturday. May I take you to our meadow?" He asked politely.

"Of course!" I said. I couldn't hide my smile. I would love more than anything than to go to our meadow together. I nuzzled close to him.

"So what's the news with Bree and Diego? How are they? Will I be able to meet Diego sometime soon?" I asked. Edward had called me earlier and had filled me in on the situation.

"They're doing fine. Bree has taken very well to being 'vegetarian'… Diego… I guess we'll have to find out. Emmet and Jasper are taking him hunting tonight. He seems a bit more… Disgusted, I guess you could say, of the animals. He's been on the human diet for a while now; it might be a bit harder for him than it was for Bree."

We talked a bit more, and I relaxed into our embrace.

"Mhhm," I mumbled at something he said. My eyelids were heavy, and Edward was rubbing circles on my back. I wanted to stay awake, to spend more time with him, but how could I, when he was doing this?

I took a breath to tell him this, but it failed completely and came out as a sigh. He laughed as I zoned out and slowly went unconscious.

_Diego_

Bree wanted to take me hunting. Vegetarian hunting.

It was odd, thinking of drinking the blood of an animal. Riley had told us that the only way to quench our thirst was to drink the blood of a human. I shouldn't be surprised, another lie.

But I couldn't judge a book by its cover. If that saying even implied here.

So I had to admit, I was a bit sceptical about the whole animals thing… But I would give it a shot, I guess. Bree said it was good.

As I thought that, Bree entered the room. She smiled at me. "So I have an idea for our secret handshake." She said.

I laughed. It was nice. I felt so normal around her, so _good_. We could laugh all day if we wanted to. There was no embarrassment, no secrets… It was hard to think I had only met her around a month ago. I was falling hard for this girl.

"Oh yeah? Tell me," I said, poking her lightly in the stomach. She giggled. What are we, crazy teenagers in love?

In a twisted way, I guess.

She continued. "Well I was just out running when I thought we could-" I was still smiling, staring at her face. I couldn't hear her words anymore. I could only see her mouth moving, those full pink lips I loved kissing. I studied her profile, watching her eyes flutter excitedly as she rushed on. I could tell that the piercing red of her eyes was fading into a more pinkish gold. Her skin, pale as a ghost, seemed like it was glowing. The way she used her hands when she talked, I just wanted to hold them close, knowing they would be a perfect fit.

She had stopped talking, and was now looking at me expectantly. "So? What do you think? We don't have to do it if you think it's too-" She rushed on nervously.

"No, it's great. It's exactly what our secret handshake should be like. Just don't tell anyone, okay?" I grinned at her.

She laughed, and Alice spun in the room, literally, while humming a tune I didn't recognize. She was holding a digital camera. Without any warning she lifted it up and snapped a picture of us, holding hands. Bree stopped laughing. "Hey! Why the sneak attack pictures?"

Alice grinned mischievously. "I just had a _visioooon_" She said in a singsong voice. We stared at her, confused. "I'm just making a photo album." She said, and looked at the screen of the camera, and nodded, looking satisfied. "This one definitely makes the cut. You two look so good." With that, she spun away into the next room.

I looked at Bree, and she shrugged. With my arm around her waist, we were about to take off outside for a little alone time, (The Cullens respected our privacy, and they knew we liked to run.) when I heard the digital camera crack on the hardwood floor.

In any _human _household, dropping something by accident might seem normal. But in the Cullen house, dropping something would be practically impossible, if not on purpose. Especially for Alice. Bree and I exchanged a worried glance before darting back into the house.

Alice was sitting on the floor, her eyes open, but they looked vacant. The camera was on the floor a few feet away from her, the screen cracked and maybe a dent on the side. Bree picked it up and set it on the table next to Alice. "Don't worry; she's just having a vision. She'll come around in a few." She explained.

Oh. I actually thought it was kinda… cool. I was seeing new things everyday in this household, and I was learning everytime. I kept looking at Alice, sitting on the ground. "Shouldn't we help her onto the couch or something?" I asked, worried.

"Oh, no. She'll be fine. She's always telling us not to touch her when she's seeing something; it freaks her out to wake up in a completely different room, or whatever." She said to me. "C'mon, let's go hunting."

Bree brushed a chunk of dark hair from my eyes, and looked into them. "You must be thirsty. Let's go. I want to see what you would look like with golden eyes." She grinned.

"Hmph. Fine." I crossed my arms, pretending to put up a fight. She just laughed and dragged me, literally, out the door.

We were almost out the door when Alice came to. "Wait!" She yelled, unnecessarily, to us from the living room.

I rolled my eyes. _Back and forth, back and forth. _I chanted in my head. _Can't I just get this stupid hunting thing over with? Maybe Alice saw a vision of me not liking this veggie diet. She's stalling for my own good. _I thought.

We were next to Alice in a moment. "That was quick." Bree pointed out.

"We have _visitooooooor!_" She sang, once again. She squealed.

Bree crossed her arms. "What's with these visions?" She muttered under her breath. "What's the deal? Good or bad visitor? I'm guessing good…" She said, eyeing Alice's expression.

"Oh _yes, _I can't _wait _for you two to meet Eleazar and Carmen! They should be here in, hmm, maybe three days? Something like that." She flipped open a cell phone, and dialled a few numbers.

Bree and I exchanged a few confused looks. "_Who_ and _Who_?" I asked.

Alice shot us a look, and pointed at the phone tucked in between her cheek and her shoulder. "Carlisle! I just had a vision. Two, actually. Get ready for a busy week." She smiled and turned away from us.

_Alice, what are you talking about? _Carlisle said on the other end.

Alice reappeared in the room with something in her hands. "Well the _first _vision, I'll let them tell you themselves. But in the second, I saw that Eleazar and Carmen are coming to visit!" She threw the papers in her hands to us.

They weren't papers, but photographs. There were four of them, and I caught three while Bree snatched the fourth out of the air. Sharing another curious look, we hunched over the pictures and leafed threw them together.

"Yup. Yup. I'm guessing in about three days. I know! It'll be great for Bree and Diego to meet some more Vegetarians. Sure, okay. Bye." She chirped at top speed. She flipped her phone shut and slid it into her pocket.

She came to us. "That," She pointed to a tall vampire with dark hair in one of the pictures. "Is Eleazar. He's a good friend of Carlisle's. You must understand why I'm excited. We're not always in touch with our good friends. Sometimes its decades before we talk to any of them again."

The picture she was pointing at was in black and white, the corners frayed. In it we could see Carlisle, looking exactly as he does now, laughing, with his arm slung around the man named Eleazar. Eleazar was smiling, looking at something outside of the photo. It was a good shot.

She flipped to another. This one was in color, newer. But still, they looked exactly the same. Esme was in this one, along with Carlisle, Eleazar and who I'm guessing was him mate. This time they were all linking arms, smiling directly into the camera.

Alice pointed to a beautiful woman linking arms with Eleazar. "And that's Carmen. They're together. And have been for… a few decades now. Not long." _Not long!_ "But they're _so _good together. Very happy. Anyways," She continued. "In my vision, they're coming to visit. Just in time, too."

"Just in time for what?" I asked.

She set the pictures down. "I shouldn't tell you… Oh well. Edward and Bella are getting _married!_" Alice held her breath, waiting for our reactions.

"What!" Bree and I asked in sync.

"Married!" She said again. "Edwards been asking her since after Bella saved him from the Volturi, but she kept saying no. She was worried of what people would think. In my first vision, They went to their meadow together- Whoops, another secret I wasn't supposed to let out- He asked her, and she said _yes!_ Can you believe it?" She squealed again.

"No." I muttered. I still hadn't met Bella yet, but she seemed to have quite a reputation.

"Well anyway, if I'm right, which I usually am, Eleazar and Carmen are coming just in time for the wedding. Oh, I'd better get started on planning it. And who are we going to _invite?_ Small or big wedding? Bella will want small. Big wedding it is…" She went on.

"Oh and, I forgot to tell you. Eleazar has a gift. It's pretty interesting. He can tell if _you_ have a gift, and what it is. So if you had a talent but didn't even _know _it, he would. Hey," She winked at us. "Maybe one of the two of you has a gift… I guess we'll see." She smiled.

Bree and I looked at each other. We were in for a long week.

_A.N._

So this chapter has a lot of dialog in it, I know. But I like it the way it is. Whatever. And I'm also unsure about the timeline for the whole Eleazar and Carmen thing. You know my hesitations with the whole Riley Park thing… Well this time I decided to do my research. So I brought down my old copy of Breaking Dawn, but I still didn't find any concrete info about when Eleazar left the Volturi, when he and Carmen got together, blah blah blah… So I sorta just guessed. Hope you're okay with that. And I'm planning on bringing in the talents in and the new characters in the next couple chapters. So keep reading!

P.S. I just saw this preview for a movie that's coming out, and it's a parody of Twilight! It looks soooooo damn funny. I highly suggest you go to youtube and look up "Vampires suck" and watch the trailer. You will not be sorry!


	8. Chapter 8

_Eleazar_

So we were on our way to the Cullens. I knew Alice would see us coming, so it wasn't exactly a surprise visit. But Carmen and I had decided to travel the world, to get out of our comfort zone and experience things the way nobody else would have the chance, together.

When she brought up the idea about a month ago, I didn't like it. I mean, we have god knows how much time in front of us, why would we want to go everywhere and then have nowhere to see? Nothing new, or mysterious, or undiscovered… But the idea of that appealed to her, somehow.

But over the next month the idea grew on me. I supposed we could take our sweet time, stay in the new places longer, and maybe meet a few new vampires. And then we could go off on our next adventure.

So we set off, together. But we wanted to stop by and say goodbye to the Cullens, first. We haven't seen each other in a while, and it would probably be a very, very long time until we finished our journey. So Carmen and I wanted to see our old friends before we set off.

Carmen put her hand on my shoulder, breaking me out of my day dream. She nodded to the dirt road that our car was climbing on to.

"Look," She said. "Almost there."

She knew driving bothered me. It's not that I was scared, or couldn't do it; no, I could drive with my eyes closed and my hands behind my back. But while most vampires enjoyed the speed of the vehicles these days, I stayed true to my nature, and I my preference was to run.

But it wasn't just that that was making my mood a bit… Off. I was no Alice, but I just had a feeling. A very, _small _feeling…

I saw the corner of a very big, white house peek over through the trees. I parked the car.

Carmen looked over to me. "I don't know what you're worried about, but stop. Everything is going to go great." With an encouraging smile, we jumped out of the car, and headed toward the Cullens.

_Carlisle_

After the call from Alice, everyone had been extra busy for a few days. Alice prepared everything that would be needed for our guests, perhaps a bit excessively, even. We didn't know if they were planning on staying hours or _years._ Whatever the case, Alice was ready.

Edward was also in charge of explaining to Bella, Bree and Diego the situation. Not that they were anything to worry about, Eleazar and Carmen, but just so that they knew and were also, ready for anything.

Diego had also gone hunting yesterday. He had surprisingly liked it. _I _wasn't surprised. While everyone made a huge fuss, we all knew that hunting 'vegetarian style' was more convenient, and very satisfying, indeed.

And of course, Edward and Bella getting married wasn't much of a surprise either. We all knew it would happen sometime, but we were happy for them all the same.

And back to Eleazar and Carmen. I didn't know what the fuss about that was_._ It was just our old friends, visiting for the sake of visiting! I was very looking forward to seeing them again.

The sound of a car driving down the dirt road snapped me out of my thoughts.

We were standing in the living room. My whole family, including Diego and Bree, were scattered around the room, waiting.

I heard the quiet breeze as the two vampires flew up the steps and to the door. "Knock knock," Carmen said loudly in her beautiful voice.

I smiled and in a flash was opening the door for them.

"Carmen, Eleazar. Welcome." I said, still smiling.

They laughed in delight. "Why you haven't aged a day Carlisle! It's good to see you." Carmen said to me.

I took them gently by their hands. "Come. I want you to meet some people."

They shared a look while we made our way to the living room. Probably thinking, _again? When will Carlisle stop 'adopting'?_

I didn't mind. We were a family. A very big one, indeed, but a family.

I led them into the living room, where everyone stood. I noticed the quick glance they gave to Bree and Diego before greeting my wife.

"Esme! It's been too long." Carmen exclaimed while hugging her.

Eleazar shook the hands of everyone. He looked a little tense, but was trying hard to hide it.

Immediately my senses were on red alert. What if they didn't come just to visit? What was wrong? Why wasn't Carmen worried too?

I looked at Edward. His expression said the same thing. He looked at Eleazar, probably reading his thoughts and trying to figure out what's wrong. He looked at me after a moment, and lifted his shoulders an inch, as to say, _I got nothin'._

Oh well. We could talk about it later.

"Carlisle," Eleazar said. "Are these the lucky new addition to your family?" He asked, while studying Bree and Diego.

With the attention finally on them, they stepped out of the shadows of the rest of my family. I could tell they were nervous.

"Why yes. But I'll let them tell you themselves." I gave Bree an encouraging smile.

"Hi there, I'm Bree." She started.

_Edward Cullen _

Bree gave Eleazar a firm handshake, but when she extended her arm to Carmen, she was surprised with a hug.

"I'm Carmen. It's so nice to meet you Bree." Carmen said with a bright smile on her face.

Brees mind was crazy. She was somewhat relieved that Eleazar and Carmen were similar to us. She didn't know what to expect, and was terribly nervous about it. Aside from that, she was worrying about Diego, and what he was thinking.

I looked into Diego's thoughts, which were practically screaming to me. He was happy to meet our friends, but was mainly just thinking about Bree. It was actually sickly, how much he thought about her. And not all rated PG either. I imagined that if my family could hear my thoughts about Bella, it would be close to what I was hearing in his head.

I stopped short when I heard Eleazars thoughts.

_So talented… And both of them! How lucky. I'm worried though… This is just another reason for the volturi to come after them… If they could develop their gifts enough, it could be an amazing advantage… Their coven is already so big, and now more than half of them are talented? What are the odds…_

"What did you say?" I asked abruptly, interrupting something Esme was saying to Carmen. 

"Edward," Esme scolded, glaring at me through narrowed eyes.

After a fraction of a second Eleazar knew what I meant. "You didn't know?"

"Of course not," I said, moving towards him in curiosity. "Aren't you always the one to tell us when we have gifts?" I said with a chuckle.

He laughed. "It is certainly _not _my fault I always happen by before you have discovered them."

My whole family gasped at our little exchange, and then immediately they all stared at Bree and Diego.

Diego cleared his throat. "Uh, what?" He said to me.

I raised my eyebrows at Eleazar. "Enlighten us, Eleazar. None of us had any idea of any more gifts in this family."

He turned to Bree and Diego. "You both have extraordinary gifts. I can sense them. Bree," She looked at him, taken back. "You are an illusionist. You can… Make illusions. Similar to what my dear friend Zafrina can project, but perhaps more powerful. You see, Zafrina can make people think they see something. But you… You can actually make the illusion into reality." He struggled to find the right words to explain.

Bree was frozen, her expression unreadable. Before she could respond, Eleazar continued.

"You can make something you want appear. You could, possibly, after lots of practice, change your appearance."

Carlisle was the first to speak. "Congratulations! That is wonderful dear." He said, putting a strong hand on her shoulder. I could hear in his thoughts that he had also thought of what Eleazar had figured out. The Volturi would not appreciate the power that had come with these two, and the fact that they had joined our family. They were already too intimidated by us.

Bree laughed anxiously.

"And Diego," Eleazar looked at him. "You can do what is called power augmentation. Yours is a little less complicated… But still very useful. You can pretty much just increase somebody's gift, or decrease it. Both of you are very lucky."

Diego looked at Bree and laughed nervously. "Oh were lucky all right."

A.N.

Ahh. Thank god. I'm so, so, so sorry for taking *ages* to update. It's just been pretty darn busy with school coming up, and all that jazz. I hope you all liked this chapter, and I want you to know that the next one will be another big BANG. But don't get your hopes up; it might take me longer than a day or two. But I'll still try my best to get it out soon enough. Love you guys!


	9. Chapter 9

_Bree Cullen_

"Come on Bree, focus!"

Emmett's voice broke me out of my trance, and I blew out a long, frustrated breath. We've been outside of the house for about three hours now, trying to channel my so called 'talent'. Ever since Eleazar and Carmens not-so-surprise visit about a week ago, my family has been all over Diego and I, trying to get us to 'awaken our powers'. I had been complaining about the 'training sessions' that Emmett and Edward had set up for us, but I was actually just jealous of the fact that Diego had been picking it up much faster than I had.

"How 'bout _you _try doing something that you have absolutely _no _idea how to control!" I growled through clenched teeth.

He rolled his eyes, his skin sparkling softly by the rays of sunlight that escaped through the clouds, and I looked down to see that my arms were doing the same. It was a reminder of the creatures we were, and not the humans that we all once were.

"You're being dramatic. Just _focus._ Think of a safety pin. A small, silver, pin. Sharp on one side, and twisted into a circle at the other end…" He said slowly, as if talking to a child.

"I'm _trying!_" I snapped. My hands were balled into fists. I blew a stray piece of hair out of my face, and I imagined I would be sweating if I could.

Emmett wasn't fazed by my foul attitude. He sighed dramatically. "Let's try something simpler," He said, sarcastically. His eyes lit up suddenly, as he muttered something under his breath and started fumbling something out of his pocket.

"Uhh, here."

He handed me a crumpled dollar bill, ignoring my doubtful look. "And what am I supposed to do with this?"

"Look, maybe making something appear out of thin air is too… _advanced _for you." He chuckled, ignoring me as I demanded to know if _he_ could make something appear out of thin air. "Just focus on the bill, and try and make it transform into let's say… A blank piece of paper." He continued.

I sighed and closed my eyes before he could make another crack about my difficulty with my gift.

Instead of opening my senses like I did while I hunted, I closed them. I shut everything out, Emmett's steady breathing, the grass and the trees rustling in the light breeze, the wildlife that surrounded me… I made it disappear. The only thing the existed was the crumpled bill in my hands. I imagined it changing… the green fading into white, the numbers and words and pictures gone. I ran my flawless hands over the bill, feeling it smooth out… I wanted it to change. I _needed _it to change.

My eyes snapped open. I broke into a dazzling smile as I held up a small, plain white piece of paper in my hands.

"Oh, oh, oh my GOD!" I burst out. Diego was with us in a flash. His eyes were swamped with worry as he stood on the back deck, looking from me to Emmett, to the forest and back to me again.

I looked at Emmett, my mouth gaping, his eyes wide, and he punched his fist in the air as I let out a loud, happy, out-of-breath laugh.

"I did it!" I said at the same time as he said "I knew it would work! Am I a genius or what!"

The paper floated to the ground as Emmett and I high fived, whooping and cheering. Diego broke into a grin after catching our drift. He came to join us, hugging my waist from behind. "You got it! What happened?" He asked.

Emmett, being the gentleman he was, went inside to tell everyone of my breakthrough while Diego congratulated me.

I squealed as Diego took my waist and gently pulled me closer, our noses inches apart. His eyes sparkled, something that happened whenever we had a moment like this. I loved the way his hair, dark as midnight, almost glowed in the sunset. His face, pale as a ghost and sculpted to perfection, was lit up like a Christmas tree. "You're getting it!" He bent down and retrieved the paper. He turned it around in his hand a few times, studying it closely. "This is great! I'm so proud of you!"

Things couldn't get any better than this. Just when I thought this was hopeless… My thoughts were cut short when Diego leaned in and kissed me with a passion that he has never kissed me with before. I gasped in surprise, and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue in my mouth, which I gladly accepted. Now that we were living with the Cullens, we didn't get as much privacy as we'd like, not that we were complaining.

We officially became Cullens about two weeks ago, and things were going better than we could've ever hoped for. We had a family, a home, a whole new lifestyle… Carlisle even said that if we kept going at the rate we were, we would be able to go to high school in a few years! It was all so exciting, knowing I had a whole life ahead of me with people I loved.

He pulled me closer, and I momentarily forgot about my accomplishment, it was just him. Right before my control was about to brake and some clothes would have been shed, I heard my family approach.

We broke apart reluctantly just as Carlisle, Emmett, Esme, Alice, Jasper, and Rose joined us in the backyard. Edward was with Bella again, which was now the routine, and even though we loved him and none of us would admit it, it was pretty nice not having a mind reader around all the time.

"Bree! Emmett tells us you've had a breakthrough!" Carlisle said as he glided over to us, and if he caught some of our little exchange, he didn't show it.

"Yeah! Well, kinda, I hope so!" I stuttered, still shocked from Diego's boldness. If I were human, I would have been beet red. Diego just smiled and handed over the small paper. Carlisle took it, and the rest of the Cullens crowded around him, unconcerned with our embarrassment. I shot Diego a look and he chuckled at me.

We carried the conversation inside as it was getting darker out. Emmett patted me on the back once more before he and Rosalie went up to their room, along with Alice and Jasper who went out hunting. Esme disappeared, probably off saving the world or something. There was nothing that woman could not do.

"So you turned a dollar bill into this?" Carlisle asked, while examining every inch of the paper.

I nodded, and he continued. "I wonder how long the illusion lasts. Or will it stay like this forever? Can you only form illusions out of objects, or will you be able to create things out of thin air? Amazing, there's not a trace of green…" He was muttering things under his breath, things that I couldn't answer if I wanted to.

"Well I guess we'll find out… I mean, I've got nothing but time, right?" I smirked and Diego's cool hand found mine.

"Right, right…" Carlisle said, but he was preoccupied with the scrap of paper. If I knew everyone was going to be all gaga over it, I would've at least tried to make something more interesting.

"Do you think you can do it again?" Diego asked, rubbing my back.

"Maybe… Later. Can we go for a run?" I asked softly. I wanted to clear my mind, and have some time alone with my soul mate.

Diego's gift was to enhance or decrease somebody's gift. I personally thought it was way cooler and more useful than to be able to turn a buck into a piece of paper, but that's just me.

Lately he'd been practicing with Edward, and it was going really well. Apparently he could make the voices in Edwards head almost disappear, and stretch them out so that he could hear someone's thoughts from miles away. It was a great relief to Jasper, who sometimes got the privilege to be practiced on, and he was already forming a bond with Diego because of it.

Diego was not only my lover, but my best friend. We talked about everything. We could talk until the sun went down, and then up again. I loved him with all my heart.

So when we were running, I had an idea. I smiled to myself as I felt the wind whip past me, my long, chestnut hair flowing behind me. We slowed by a gorgeous spring quite a ways away from the house. It didn't smell like anyone had been there before us.

I gasped as I took in everything that was in front of me, watching the moonlight glisten off the water as it trickled slowly into the pool beneath it. It looked like magic, the way the rocks were surrounding a bubbling fountain, with a huge willow leaning over the water, and I could imagine it providing cool shade on one of those rare sunny days in Forks. I could sense that Diego was on the same track as I was…

"Oh my god. This is perfect!" I gasped again. It was so beautiful; it would've brought tears to my eyes if I could cry. "This has to be-"

"Our place!" He finished my sentence. I smiled again. I took his hand and lead him over to the edge of the pool, and a few moments later our shoes were off and our feet dipped in the water.

I leaned back, and moaned as the moonlight washed over my face, and listened to the water gently pooling at the bottom. The moment couldn't be any more perfect. I looked over to Diego.

"I want to try something. Use your gift on me." I said, looking into his eyes. He nodded, understanding my intentions.

I focused on Diego's face, as he suddenly became sober, his eyes the shade of melted honey, his intoxicating scent filling my senses, his hands clasping mine. I slowly closed my own eyes, and felt his power build inside me.

My senses closed again, but instead of focusing on an item, I focused on Diego. There was nothing that I wanted more than to be with him for the rest of my life, and all of a sudden I knew what I wanted to create. I just hoped there wasn't an expiration date on my creations.

I took a deep breath, and imagined two small items form in my hands. I felt a surge of power inside me… And then I closed my fist around two round items, and held my hand to my chest, hiding my creations.

I opened my eyes to find Deigo staring adoringly at me.

"Diego. I love you." I said, my voice steady and certain, but passionate too.

He smiled, and his eyes sparkled again as his hands caressed my face. "Bree, I love you more than you will ever know. You are my world. I don't know how I could survive without you."

I wanted to kiss him so badly, but I wanted to wait until after I asked him…

"Diego, marry me!" I burst out. I quickly caught myself and slapped my hand over my mouth, but it was too late. Shock flashed across his face, and then complete joy.

"Ohh, that was supposed to come out _sexier._" I said and opened my hand to show him the rings I had made.

He didn't spare a glance at the rings, and somehow I was in his arms, and he was in mine, and we were kissing, and laughing, and soon we were just lying on our backs, watching the stars together. I couldn't have asked for a better night.

"You know, I'm the one who's supposed to ask _you._" He said to me, sounding guilty. He was very traditional.

I laughed. "I don't think it matters, do you?" I turned so that my head was on his shoulder.

Diego started playing with my hair. "As long as I'm with you, I'd be happy with anything." He smiled at me adoringly.

"You know what?" I asked abruptly. "Hmm?" Diego replied, seemingly mesmerized with my hair. He was so cute when he was distracted.

"Let's go swimming." I said. Before he could answer I was up, pulling my shirt over my head and kicking my khakis off into a pile. I looked over my shoulder and gave him a sexy smile as I saw that he was already in his boxers. He was laughing as I screamed at him. "Last one in is the rotten egg!"

_A.N._

So I know I haven't updated in like FOREVER, but I was really bored and had a sudden inspiration, so I whipped the laptop out and started writing. A couple hours later, we have this chapter. I apologize if it's a little messy; I kinda just laid it down, making it up as I went along… It is definitely not my best work. But forgive me, and I'll try and make a better one for the next chapter, now that I guess I'm back on with this story… It's also a pretty pointless romantic chapter, but whatever… I'll do my best to pop out a better, more intense one soon!


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